Any tips for MTing on the road?
Posted By: academia on 2007-09-15
In Reply to:
I am packing up my laptop and heading out soon for week away. Plan to work part of the time from the hotel. Any tips from those who have done the mobile thing before? My biggest concern is that I won't be able to take my books and only I have a couple of electronic Stedman's.
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Yep -- ROAD RAGE
NM
I'm in Aylett, just up the road, near Rt. 30 & 360. - sm
Do you work in-house somewhere or at home? I am at home and currently working PT for a local company. Drop me an email...think it is listed with my OP.
idiots on the road
We have the top 6 out of 10 dangerous intersections in our county all within 5 miles of home. One if my kids go to the mall, one on the way to school, two on the way to their best friends houses and one on the way to the bank/grocery,doctor's..go figure .
All 6 have the same main corridor in common, so our township thought they'd get smart and put concrete dividers in to replace what they called "deadman left turn lanes"..ok sounded smart
Now, the state is trying out a new fangled system for our emergency personell that changes all traffic lights to green (fire or police activate it) because..the idiots who installed the concrete barriers made them too high and the fire trucks/ambulances can NOT get over them to get around stopped traffic
I absolutely hated when my kids got wheels because anywhere they were going was through one of these intersections and case in point, I sat at a light in the worst of them all, I could hear the siren and see the lights flashing coming but did the kid with the bass in front of me?..nah and jumped at the light and crammed right into the ambulance that was coming through . No one really hurt but I have told all of mine that I best NOT get a call about an accident like that one.
Oh and forgot, since the levy did not pass, all the high schoolers will not be bussed, so look for the entrance to school as making the above list
Same Here - Road Runner
I'm in Upstate NY, Syracuse area and I haven't had any problems with mine either.
working on the road
I use a laptop and an air card from Verizon. Works like a charm!
Working on the road
Shouldn't be a problem, especially if you can dial toll free. It's also easy if you use online dictation. We went to Reno and stayed at a hotel for a week last winter and I used the hotel's wireless internet in the room for my work. Had fun and didn't still worked my 3 hours a day. I did have to pay a weekly rate for the internet but it was worth it. Just be sure to bring a long telephone cord. Have fun!
I also have done transcription, even going down the road.
I use a Verizon broadband which is similar to what ATT offers and it costs the same, around $60 but it pays for itself sometimes when hotels we have been to in Vegas etc.. want to charge $12-14 a day for internet use. I love being able to go on vacation and still not miss work. Some people think when you go on vacation you should not work, but I do both...I get up early, do some work, and play the rest of the day.
Road hypnosis...Please do see...
a doctor (neurologist). This is potentially extremely dangerous for drivers and others on the road. You can get a medication called "Provigil" that will keep you alert for the trip.
Pat/Awaiting Road Runner
I hope you get it soon! I used to dial up, all kind of problems, slow, slow. Then switched to RR and for over a year now, NADA a problem at all, zilch...it is always here..you will enjoy it
Beatles - Abbey Road. nm
:)
Yes, I work on the road all the time. I have...
I have a TASP (MetroScript) and so I can download my voice files as long as I can get an Internet connection. I even worked while on vacation in another country. It was awesome (well... working on vacation was not so great). We had no problem finding free wireless connections in the US but I did have to dial up when we were in another country. But my TASP handled everything else. I'm actually very happy with them. (www.metroscript.com)
YOU CAN EVEN CRUISE/TAKE ROAD TRIP
I'm leaving again next week on a cruise, and can take the work with me. As an MTSO, I don't have to transcribe, but could if I needed; just download via ship internet to laptop and type offline, then send back. I use to move files, answer emails, and JUST IN CASE, have the ability to transcribe should the world fall apart while I'm gone! Also, if you get an AIRCARD, you CAN download/send files while traveling where phone signal is available. Life is good with flexibility!!!
MT on the road using C-phone or Lanier? (sm)
Anyone have any suggestions for using a C-phone or Lanier while traveling? I'm planning a vacation and will stay in a hotel (with separate work space). I've worked before while traveling with my laptop and transcribed via wav files or a tape transcriber, but never with a C-phone. I've thought about purchasing a calling card to use the hotel's phone line to dial in; know it'll be expensive. Any ideas and recommendations on this plan are much appreciated, i.e., calling card, hotel's phone line.
Thanks!
Just one more wallpaper - 1969 Abbey Road
Another far out pic!
http://bludream.club.fr/download/wallpapers/walp10-1024-768.JPG
if i were being promised things that weren't being followed through, i'd hit the road. sm
i agree on the decreasing the bonus but maybe they didn't have as productive of a year this year or didn't clear as much in their pocketbooks as they would like, lol. i technically think all companies should give something; after all, a gift is a tax write off anyway. better to give to those busting our tails for them rather than uncle sam. i haven't gotten anything but cards in the last 3 years so i am used to it by now and don't expect it but i would definitely be grateful even for a meal gift card or anything for that matter.
Right now all of our efforts are to get her better and on the road to recovery. What may lie ahead
in terms of lawsuits, etc., will be addressed at a later date. Her getting better is our #1 priority. I was just amazed at how the process has been handled so far. It really is a shame.
Road Runner lately in Upstate NY has been slow. U R not alone.
Hope I don't meet this patient on the road...sm
"Her job involves a significant amount of ... in addition, working on a cell phone, typing and driving." This could explain some of the drivers I've encountered recently, shew...
MTing
I would think many MT companies cannot believe their good fortune. They have figured out how to pay us the least absolute minimum that they can get away with. They don't have to provide computers (where I work), provide space to work, benefits or give raises. I always wondered why do we have to pay them rent, but they don't have to pay us for our computers. We have to provide our own phone, cable access, etc. We have to provide our own reference material. Can you think of any other job that would allow any of this? Why do I stay? Because I found a company where I can work when I want to. The day that changes, I will give up completely on this "profession?"
Are you relatively new to MTing?
I certainly don't work for slave wages.....unless slaves were VERY well paid.
Maybe it isn't for you. I hope you find your happiness.
Thanks MTing
The desk is a good idea. I think I might try it. If it doesn't work, well then I will know for sure. I will first try it on OT when I'm not committed on a schedule. The area we are planning to go is a weekend home and I know the route well. Straight highway shot, not a lot of scenary, etc.
MTing
Not "could" do... WOULD do. Big difference. There are lots of things I can do. I just don't want to do them.
I'm not entirely sure what I want to do should I leave transcribing. I have no intention whatsoever leaving transcription until I have a definite game plan set up and a means to an end on achieving it.
I've been a receptionist before and don't want to do that again and I've done the retail thing while going through college. Retail does not pay well at all - I have to make money, not starve to death. I'm also living in a rural farming community on the prairies and the nearest retail store is a 40 minute drive. Not really into commuting like that for $7 an hour.
I work as an I.C. MT and like being self-employed, I like setting my hours and scheduling. My husband works in the oil fields and is gone for 30-40 days at a stretch and back home for 7 days. Would be nice to do something together and be self-employed.
Actually thought of tree farming, since we have 60 acres of land. Trees are fairly low maintenance and there always seems to be a demand for them, for growing as well as for Christmas. It's fairly seasonal, which would also allow for winter holidays and recharging of one's batteries, so to speak.
Just looking for ideas. I want a complete change of pace. And I definitely don't want to be sitting indoors in front of a computer all day long!
Did you go into MTing so you could
stay at home with the kids?
LPN and MTing...
IMO they do not have the right to do so.
They hired you as an LPN. The fact that they 'discovered' that you can also do MTing, does not give them the right to force you to do it in your office time. Do they compensate you for the extra work?
Who leaked to the office manager that you do MTing at home?
If they continue to put pressure on you, just tell them that you decided to stop it because it is too much for you; don't give up your LPN job if you like it or would you be ready to switch totally to MTing, for your doctor and other clients?
Nobody can tell you what to do in your after-office hours!
Tell us how it develops.
Good luck!
What do you mean? I think MTing is always done
in vertical (portrait) mode.
The other one is horizontal (landscape) mode.
Then you are an absolute FOOL. Down the road, you'll wish you were never involved
ll
Makes me think of Beatles Polythene Pam from Abbey Road. nm
Also love Mean Mr. Mustard, sleeps in the park, shaves in the dark trying to save paper. Sleeps in a hole in the road, saves enough to buy some clothes, keeps a five-pound note up his nose, such a dirty old man...dirty old man.
Three months ago I switched to Road Runner voice over IP.
I'm very happy with it. I'm on the phone for hours and haven't had any problems with them as of yet. We'll see what the future brings.
Well, I would like to applyl. I hope you can make a go of it but it will not be an easy road. If
:+
Why don't you get Busy MTing?
Longevity of MTing
How long do you all think (with voice recognition and EMR and jobs going overseas) that MTing will be around. I have another 20 years of my working career ahead of me, and I have been thinking maybe I should get out and work in something that will be around for the next 20 years.
Get out of MTing. That's my advice.
something where your medical knowledge may be worth money. Medical
terminology worth is in the toilet in transcription for a couple of reasons. (1) MTs are not licensed. (2) We have no lobby.
As long as we keep "giving" the suits our knowledge at (cough, sputter) 0.17 cents a line and such, they will keep sticking it to us. And people around the world for some stupid reason keep doing this for those low wages.
So I say let the VR people who eventually do need editors with medical knowledge, have the people who can afford to live on 0.17 cents a line in their hovels. I did something else before I did transcription and I can do something else now.
After the VR people have gone through their cheap source and found they are more expensive than they are worth because we won't be around to clean up their lack of English, let's take a peek now and then to watch the show - how will they pull English editors out of their rearends. Not that I care. But it should be a fun show to watch.
I realize VR works in single practitioner offices and even in small clinics. Where I will tune in is to watch the Mayo Clinics who have thousands of physicians and the ever-forgettable nurse practitioners (gag, pedal (bicycle pedal) edema) trying to use VR. Let's see the slave labor, non-english-speaking, over-educated but don't know how to get in out of the rain MTs clean up that and get it back without English speaking editors.
Right now the medical record is a very very expensive and dangerous instrument in the life of a patient. I think it should be scrapped myself. Some other way of combining patient medical hx should be created. Probably not even utilizing dictation at all. Instead creating the file through collating the tests, drug formularies from the pharmacy during the stay, specialty reports like MRIs, etc and exit check off sheet. I would say the doctor should do that collating - using a wand to click on what he wants in the FINAL CHART REVIEW for the patient's stay for that visit.
That sort of thing may provide one less gossip step in lab values, radiology reports, drug names and values - that is happening now by the physician's sloppy and usually unintelligible dictation - values of which are mostly of no pertinent value to the reader and which any doctor will tell you anyway - THEY DO NOT DEPEND ON LAB VALUES ON A DICTATION...so we have wasted our time, plus probably typed wrong numbers, and added to the cost of the person's hospital stay through such a redundant and stupid exercise of having to go back and forth trying to make things out.
Canadian MTing?
Are there any Canadian MT's on this site? I am from canada and wondering where I go to find jobs in the US for Canadian's to work! What is a fair wage? Any help would be very much appreciated!
To Busy MTing
Busy - please tell about your experience with going back to school - how old (young) were you when you went back to school? What are your interests for your next occupation? Thanks in advance!
Why do people say that MTing won't be around
It just gets me worried hearing that.
We need a new board for no more MTing
So many posts on these boards, maybe a special board just so those that see no more future in MT can post their doom and gloom end of the work disaster stuff.
The future of MTing. sm
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at the future. I prefer to think of them as forward thinkers, because that is what they are. I congratulate you on doing well. However, the industry, as a whole, thanks to offshoring and greedy MTSOs, is not doing so well. There's an excellent article on this board about Dictaphone being bought out and the new company "phasing out manual transcription." Exactly what do you think that means?
MTing does not have to be stressful
Just choose to not let it get to you. Let your employer know what you are willing to do, whether or not you wish to do overtime....then just stick to it. Don't let the begging for OT bother you. You are working what you agreed to and when the day is done....leave it.
The only time I work OT is when my company has given me some kind of flexibility. Like over the Summer they let me flex my schedule a bit to drive my daughter to a day camp. So when my account got in a huge backlog I worked extra. Otherwise they know what I have signed on for.
I love MTing. I love working at home. I wouldn't go back to working in an office or hospital for ANYTHING. No thank you. Been there done that.
I hope you find what you are looking for.
30+ years MTing
making base rate of 9.5 cpl, doing all work types.
Though i make a comfy living compared to many, i sure don't feel we are well-compensated/respected by the medical community, even though we have very specialized technical skills.
The state of MTing
...We can't put the total blame on the AAMT, or whatever it's called now. We are all a little responsible because we did not advocate enough for our profession, we did not look long ago at the advantages of having a union,and we allowed the big corporations to speak on our behalf. Bear in mind the healthcare industry is in crisis in this country with no real solutions. It's a matter of economy when CEO's and CFO's are forced to operate so that the hospital maintains some profit. Of course we all hear of hospitals that have shut down their ERs because they are proving to be a financial loss. In our part of the country, California, many nurses allied healthcare fields have become very savvy, and many are unionized. They remember too well 15 years ago when RNs were laid off left and right, at least in California. Now, they are smarter and trying to think ahead. No easy answers. We're just one industry of many that are cutting salaries, offshoring, and losing benefits.
I have been MTing longer than you and get this
When starting VR was also told I should be using the function keys. My "new"(outsourced) job of years even went so far as to show us where we were using the mouse as opposed to the keys. I have never used the function keys and do over 3000 per day, my lines have increased since VR and have worked NOT using the function keys now for several years and it works ok for me. Did they threaten you with not using the function keys???
jobs after MTing?
how did you find this job?
What are the reasons you want to do MTing?
NM
I too have many, many years of MTing
under my belt. I was recently hired by a great company. They asked me how many lines I was interested in doing, not hours. I work part-time hours but make full-time lines. Maybe if you put the lines you plan on doing instead of hours you might get more of a response. Good luck.
MTing in the boonies
I am looking for an MT position with only 1 1/6 MT experience. I am not have much luck.
I have the aircard and little experience.
Any suggestions ? What companies hire MTs like me who need mentoring?
rochelle
Thanks Joy - been in MTing for 20 years -
I have a computer at home, just wanted something portable for when I am spending long hours at school and needing to take notes, do extra homework assignments, etc.
This little notebook from Walmart I just got only cost $298 and weighs just 1 pound so it will fit in my purse easily. Just don't know how well it performs.
Long and winding road, but back in high school
 My favorite album was Sgt. Pepper's, I listened to it over n over until the tape wore out and finally broke. I keep meaning to replace my old collection with CDs. I used to have posters of the Beatles all over the walls, collected those circle john lennon sun glasses, the whole deal.
Formerly SadMT has now received her new Dell PC and is now on the road to happiness! Just wanted to
thank everyone for all your good suggestions and advice last weekend! Now, I can get serious about the job search!
I miss Greensboro. I used to live on Dolley Madison Road.
Before that, on Francis King Street in Guilford College. I loved Greensboro so much. I know where Pleasant Garden is.
Hoosiers, Road Warrior, Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Live in PA too and while no road problems here, I sure do have one flooded basement and a mess to cl
x
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